Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Digging at Ayodhya

Sir, — I fully agree with Prof. Harbans Mukhia's viewpoint (March 11) that in the final analysis the temple-mosque dispute at Ayodhya can be amicably resolved only through a political solution, requiring as it does a grander vision on the part of the Muslim leadership leading to gifting away that little piece of land for temple construction. Such a gesture will earn enormous goodwill from their Hindu brethren. That the Muslim `leadership' lacks such a vision is a harsh reality. They would argue that it would lead to opening the pandora's box and that the Hindus would ask for sites of thousands of mosques. This fear is unfounded. After all, all temples are not equal in the esteem of the devout Hindus.

Organisations such as the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, are cashing in on the Hindu grievance — alleged or real — that the Muslim leadership is rigid, aggressive and combative vis-a-vis such issues. If the Muslim leadership shows a gesture, the Togadias and Singhals would lose their fangs and cease to be effective in spreading communal poison in the country.

G. Niranjan Rao,
Thiruvananthapuram

* * *

Sir, — The consequences of the excavation ordered by the court at the disputed site have been rightly mentioned by Neera Chandhoke (March 8). It is unfortunate that the legislators and the judiciary are not ready to think of the wider issues. The need of the hour is to maintain harmony within communities and not to expose them to a conflict.

Ashraf Riaz,
Srinagar

* * *

Sir, — The letters published on "Digging up the past" (March 8) indicate our tendency to be unduly apprehensive and hypothetical. The court cannot ignore what is produced as evidence in the case. The Ayodhya issue is already much more than the pandora's box, courtesy our vote-bank politics. Although its settlement is detrimental to the interests of our politicians, they have no way but to say that the court verdict should be final. Whatever the VHP and others may say, they very well know that they are bound by the court verdict and the law of the land.

M.C. Joshi,
Lucknow

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• Dangerous drift
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• Digging at Ayodhya
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